Monday, February 14, 2011

When it comes to versatile actors, Edward Norton is right up there for me with Johnny Depp. Norton can play any role, from a mentally challenged defendant to a superhero, to a hillbilly and everything in between. At the end of the day, there are not many people who do a better job.

This article will cite some of my favorite roles Edward Norton has played in recent years.

In an incredibly dark yet gripping film, Edward Norton played the part of Lester "Worm" Murphy in Rounders. If you like gambling, movies about gambling, poker, Matt Damon or any combination of the above, Rounders is worth seeing. Supposedly they are currently working on a second installment of this movie. Although I'm not exactly sure how that would work.

The second movie that definitely makes the cut of great Edward Norton films is The Score. Taking an influence from his role in Primal Fear, Norton plays a mentally disabled custodian and does a very convincing job. This is a great heist movie.

Showcasing his amazing versatility, Edward Norton portrays a hateful nazi (is there any other kind?) in American History X. This movie is currently ranked as number 40 of all time on the Internet movie database (imdb.com). If you are unfamiliar with the Internet movie database, it takes into account the voting of its hundreds of thousands of members in choosing the greatest films of all time. If you make it into the top 250 it is considered quite the accomplishment. If you make it into the top 50, well that's just amazing.

The next film I would like to discuss is on the opposite end of the spectrum and it is none other than Keeping The Faith. This comedy stars Norton and Ben Stiller as a priest and rabbi, respectively that end up fighting over their childhood best friend, who happens to be an attractive lady.

Fight Club simply put, has to make any Edward Norton list. Tyler Durden is an iconic character and this is easily one of the best films of the 1990s. It also happens to be David Fincher's best film to date, in my opinion. Everything from the dialogue in this film, to the acting, to the cinematography is just perfect.

As it stands, this is my list of my favorite Edward Norton films. Let's see what the next five years bring for him.